


foolish, fragile spine

by julesandothernecessities



Category: Gotham (TV)
Genre: Angst, M/M, MAJOR TEARS, Mild Gore, idk what to tag this, it's just really sad guys
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-09
Updated: 2017-08-09
Packaged: 2018-12-13 05:00:43
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,088
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11752557
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/julesandothernecessities/pseuds/julesandothernecessities
Summary: "Because you're not going to kill me," came the simple answer.Oswald blinked rapidly, unsure what to make of that. The hand aiming the gun at Ed began to shake violently, but was not lowered. Only a short moment passed before Oswald pressed further, mustering enough strength to continue without falter. He willed himself to stop trembling."The gun pointing at your head would say otherwise."





	foolish, fragile spine

Droplets of blood fell from Ed's swollen lips and onto the gravel below as he collapsed to his knees. He was unable to continue standing, each blow he was given weakening and injuring him further. Despite the pain, he smiled widely, white teeth stained crimson and dark eyes somehow darker with a wicked determination. 

Oswald's ivory fingers trembled around his umbrella, the handle of which had begun to splinter under the force of having met Ed's face and torso repeatedly in an act of sorrowful rage. Though he himself had suffered little to no physical damage, Oswald's lungs ached, his throat burned from screams he wished to utter, from tears he wished to shed. He kept his expression stoic, however his chin wobbled and his pale jade eyes glistened. 

The sound of his heart twisting in his chest was almost deafening, but not so much so that he could not hear the croaking cackle spilling from Ed's bleeding mouth. Oswald felt his face twitch in angered confusion as he watched the man below him explode into a fit of laughter. It was only until the smaller man pulled out a pistol that Edward's hysterics subsided. 

"Why are you laughing?" Oswald demanded to know, cocking his gun as if that would bring him the answer. "You're on your knees, bleeding and without a weapon. This situation doesn't entirely seem to be in your favor, so why do you laugh?"

Not hindered by the fact there was a gun pointed directly at his forehead, Ed regained his breath from his outburst of amusement, taking a second to eye the man standing over him. A smile that sent visible shudders straight through Oswald creeped across Edward's face, and that only made the man smile more. 

"Oh, I believe this situation is indeed in my favor, my feathered friend," Ed countered, his voice so rough that Oswald could barely register the words. 

Taking a moment to process what was said, Oswald shifted where he stood, though his hold on the gun did not waver. 

Trying his best to appear indifferent, the small man asked, "Oh? And what makes you believe that?"

To Oswald's bewilderment, Ed's smile managed to broaden, the blood seeping from his mouth and demonic gaze in his eyes giving him a hellish appearance. 

"Because you're not going to kill me," came the simple answer. 

Oswald blinked rapidly, unsure what to make of that. The hand aiming the gun at Ed began to shake violently, but was not lowered. Only a short moment passed before Oswald pressed further, mustering enough strength to continue without falter. He willed himself to stop trembling. 

"The gun pointing at your head would say otherwise."

Ed tilted his head, the act pressing the gun directly between his eyes. A silent but acknowledged challenge. The man was so sure of his claim, and all of the sudden Oswald began to doubt his own. 

"There have been many guns between us, and yet here we are again. Alive and still at each other's throats. How long will it be until one of us actually keeps their promise of revenge?" Ed queried, and Oswald felt his jaw clench, his heart drop to his stomach. 

Pressing his gun a bit more forcefully against the other, Oswald said, "What makes you think this won't be the end to this silly feud?" 

Oswald needed to know where he had erred. He had been determined to keep his feelings and emotions from controlling him no longer, especially when it came to Ed. He would not let the past decide what the future held. 

With a knowing and resilient gleam in his gaze, Ed peered up at Oswald, his Cheshire grin diminishing to something softer but all the more sinister. 

"Because, against all reason, you still love me."

It seemed to only take that to cause Oswald to falter, the man's entire frame shaking so aggressively his arm fell to his side, his knees visibly quaking beneath him. Somehow, he managed to remain standing, and Ed did not move to get up. 

A deafening silence passed, and it wasn't long before the tears finally began to spill from Oswald's eyes. This seemed to be exactly what Ed had expected, as he continued, just as sure as ever. 

"You're still in love with me, Oswald, don't deny it. You won't kill me, just like you wouldn't before. You couldn't, you can't. Because you need me." 

Still silent, Oswald forced himself to return to looking down at Ed. The taller man seemed overly cocky and set on his declaration, and the sight of him, head held high and on his knees, made Oswald come to a conclusion of his own. 

Drawing in a shaky breath, Oswald, to Ed's bewilderment, rasped out, "You're wrong."

Whatever Ed was about to say, he never got to it, as Oswald raised his pistol yet again, leveling it to the other's head just as before. Edward, clearly perplexed, tensed his shoulders and clicked his mouth shut, nostrils flaring slightly as he stared up at Oswald. 

"You're wrong, I don't love you," Oswald continued, tears still flowing, though an expression of bitter understanding was upon his face. "But you're right about one thing: I couldn't kill you before. I could never kill you then. I fell in love with Edward Nygma, and you took him from me. You killed him. And now I'm killing The Riddler." 

Not waiting a moment longer, Oswald pulled the trigger, the sound of the bullet going straight through Edward's skull like a clap of thunder that shook Oswald to the core. Numb fingers continued to press against the trigger, sending bullet after bullet into Ed's dead body. Even after it was emptied, Oswald kept clicking the pistol uselessly, his hand shaking until he finally dropped the gun to the gravel below. 

With an anguished and shattered cry, Oswald fell onto his knees next to Ed, pulling the dead man into his trembling arms and holding him there as he wailed brokenly into his red-stained green suit. Oswald sobbed violently, crying until there were no more tears to shed, and even then he continued to sob. Soon he resorted to hiccuping emptily. 

Shaky kiss after kiss pressed against Ed's bloodied forehead, ivory fingers trembling as they stroked still-combed-back brown hair. A frenzy of whispered apologizes and useless declarations of love blew upon Ed's pale face. 

Edward Nygma was long gone, and now The Riddler as well, and Oswald felt as if his heart had went with them.

**Author's Note:**

> First time writing for this pair, but there's so much potential between them, and I honestly love them to death (quite literally, in this case.) I plan to write more, definitely something less depressing than this. Leave a comment if there's something you'd like for me to write! 
> 
>  
> 
> Title inspired by the song Smother by Daughter. To be honest, almost every Daughter song reminds me of this pair. Now is that sad or what?


End file.
